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The status of religions other than your own:
exclusivism, pluralism, & inclusivism

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Overview:

According to David Barrett et al, editors of the "World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions - AD 30 to 2200," there are 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many smaller ones. 34,000 separate Christian groups have been identified worldwide. ₁

These religions and faith groups teach very different belief systems. This naturally raises the question of where religious truth is to be found. To many believers, particularly religious conservatives, religious truth is of paramount importance. They believe  that one must be saved by embracing the truth before being eligible to avoid Hell and attain Heaven after death.

Many people regard their own denomination or faith group within their own religion to possess total religious truth; other denominations are seen to exhibit some error; other religions are often considered to be in serious error and are sometimes viewed as in opposition to the truth.

There are three main methods of viewing other denominations and religions:

Unfortunately, the term "religious pluralism" has other unrelated meanings. The main one is as a synonym for religious diversity: the fact that there exists a variety of religious beliefs in a given country or other geographic area. Thus, religious pluralism in North America -- in the sense of the U.S. and Canada being religiously diverse -- is a statement of fact. But only a minority of North Americans believe in the other meaning of "religious diversity:" that all religious are equally valid.

Topics covered in this section:

Reference used in the above essay:

The hyperlinks below were used to prepare the above essay, but are not necessarily still valid today.

1. David B. Barrett, et al., "World Christian Encyclopedia : A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World," Oxford University Press, (2001). Read reviews or order this book